How to build a stockpile!

Stock piling means never having to pay full price again.

*Stock·pile – A supply stored for future use, usually carefully accrued and maintained.

A stockpile is simply buying more than what you need for immediate use when prices are extremely low, so that you do not have to pay full price in the future. A stockpile can help you save quite the large sum of money!

Here are my tips for stockpiling:

Buy Multiples

To start a stockpile you will need multiple coupons. In order to get multiple coupons, you will need to buy multiple Sunday newspapers, dumpster/recycle bin dive or collect coupons from your friends and family or purchase bulk coupon inserts. The general rule is one coupon per family member residing in your household, but you can do more in the beginning when building your stockpile (I generally use 5, which is one more than the number of household members.)

Wait for Sales

When items go on sale at their lowest price (rock bottom price), that is when you want to use all your coupons. Say, for instance, that laundry detergent has gone on sale for $1 and you have a $0.25 coupon and your store will triple coupons. That makes the detergent just $0.25, which is a great price. So, if you have four $0.25 coupons then you could buy four bottles and pay just $0.25 per bottle! You may not need all four bottles this week or even next week, but you will use them eventually. This way, you get to pay a rock bottom price for laundry detergent and you won’t have to pay full price for it the next time you need it. You have enough to last you until the next time it goes on sale.

Sales Cycles

Stores run sales in cycles. Everything typically goes on sale about every 8 – 12 weeks. If you buy 8 – 12 weeks worth of everything when it goes on sale, then you will have enough to last you until the next time it goes on sale. If your family goes through one container of peanut butter a week, then go ahead and buy several containers. If your family only goes through one container a month, then maybe just buy a couple containers.

Buy Only What You Like

It is very important that you only stockpile foods and products that you know your family will actually use. Don’t buy 10 boxes of cereal that your family has never tried before or it may never get eaten. If your son doesn't like a certain brand of shampoo, don’t stockpile that brand, even if it’s FREE. If you won’t use it, what’s the point? By buying it you are just preventing someone who could actually use it from buying it and taking up valuable storage space in your home.

Watch Expiration Dates

You NEED to keep an eye on expiration dates when you stockpile. It is very important to rotate your stockpile. This means you need to put the new items you purchase at the back and keep the oldest products at the front where you can get to them. Keep in mind that most items expire (including toothpaste!)

Don’t Go Overboard

It’s very tempting to buy tons and tons of products – especially when they’re free. Please remember the 8 – 12 week sales cycle. It WILL go on sale again! You don’t have to buy 72 mustards right now (everyone got upset when a fellow couponer purchased over 50 mustards on TLC's Extreme Couponers). There is no need to be a shelf-clearer. Buy a few now, then buy a few again the next time it goes on sale. If you realize you’ve accumulated too much mustard, skip a few sales or donate a few.

If you build a stockpile and carefully maintain it you can save a lot of money and always have your favorite products on hand! No more running to the store at 4am because you’ve run out of baby wipes!